Question

Started solid food but now he has more trouble pooping

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My 5 1/2 month started rice cereal at 5 months, now he is also getting some fruit and veggies. A tablespoon of rice cereal mixed with eaither pears, peas, apples and we have just started pumpkin in the morning and at night before bed. He has always been an odd pooper, when he was only breast fed he would poop only every 4-5 days, now he is still pooping only every few days and it seems like when he foes a few days without going he is only interested in solid foods, he only nurses for 2 mins and then he is done.
He has also been getting juice (50/50 apple and water or peach and water) maybe a total of 4 oz a day. when he sees 'the juice bottle' he gets super excited, when he sees a baby spoon he starts opening his mouth.
is it to soon to start feeding him more? He is in the 50% for his weight so he is not 'chubby' and im not worried about him being obese although my MIL is... what I'm worried about is that he will have more trouble pooing and what should i do to help him "go"

Mom Answers

Pooping every 4-5 days is completely normal for breastfed babies. Even after starting solids my youngest pooped every 3 days. When he poops is it hard or pebbly or soft? Frequency of poops does not equal constipation. As long as his poops are soft, then he is fine. My concern is the 4oz of juice seems excessive. Solids are for practise before a year and should not be replacing breastfeedings. At his age solids and juice should be given after nursing. When he is closer to a year, then you could start giving him meals before nursing, but right now breastmilk is way more important then food or juice. Nursing for just 2 mins might not be getting him the breastmilk he needs. I would slow down on the solids a bit, or at least don't increase them.

I'm not comfortable w/ this as my children's drs & mine have always said daily BMs are what you should strive for, but a friend has been taking her son to see a specialist at children's hospital & he told her weekly is fine & not to be concerned her son doesnt go daily. He also gave her reading materials & we did some research & found while it isnt 'normal' to go that long, it isnt 'abnormal' either.
That said, it seem so me that you are doing this absolutely perfecty. His taste buds are now developing & he's learned that juices & foods taste good!
My pedia recs mixing rice & foods exactly how your are. She says to start w/ a meal a day for a mo, 2 meals for a mo, then 3 meals a day afterward. She further recommends adding meat to the 2nd/3rd meals a day & alternating between fruit, green (unsweet), & orange (sweet) veggies w/ meals. Also, certain fruits (bananas) clog while others (prunes) help BMs. You could alternate those fruits w/ his meals to increase BMs.
I hope this helps!

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